Saving the Pit Bull

The March 2019 edition of The Charleston Mercurywill feature the following article by Joe Elmore of the Charleston Animal Society

Animal welfare has progressed by leaps and bounds in America over the past 50 years. For example, according to PetSmart Charities, in 1970, there was an estimated 17,000,000 dogs and cats euthanized; in 2017, there was an estimated 1,500,000. In 1986, only 4 states had felony provisions for animal cruelty; now, all 50 states have felony provisions. Yet, the single most challenging issue for animal welfare today is the proliferation of pit bull types of dogs due to reckless breeding, making them the most at-risk dog for euthanasia.

All South
Carolinians should support Representative Chip Huggins’ Bill (H.3709) and urge
their local Representatives to co-sponsor the bill. The intended impact
of the bill is to save thousands of pit bull types of dogs overwhelming animal
shelters across South Carolina by reducing their population. No other dog
breed or grouping of breeds poses the overcrowding problem for animal shelters
as does pit bull type of dogs. It is critically important to distinguish
this strategy as reducing the overpopulation, not advocating for a breed ban,
which we all vehemently oppose.

The Need
for H.3709

The “Pit Bull” is
probably the most misunderstood and controversial dog in America. Pit
Bull is not a recognized breed by the American Kennel Club, nor is it a breed
identifiable by Wisdom Panel, the world’s leading DNA test for dogs, which
detects over 350 breeds.

According to the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the first
and oldest animal organization in the Western Hemisphere, today’s pit bull is a
descendant of the original English bull-baiting dog – a dog that was bred to
bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and
head. When baiting large animals was outlawed in the 1800s, people turned
instead to fighting their dogs against each other. These larger, slower
bull-baiting dogs were crossed with smaller, quicker terriers to produce a more
agile and athletic dog for fighting other dogs.

The ASPCA further
states It is likely that that the vast majority of
pit bull type dogs in our communities today are the result of random
breeding—two dogs being mated without regard to the behavioral traits
being passed on to their offspring. The result of random breeding is a
population of dogs with a wide range of behavioral predispositions. For this reason,
it is important to evaluate and treat each dog, no matter its breed, as an
individual.

Similar
Legislation Already Working

Numerous
communities across the nation have enacted this type of public policy.
Traditionally, there are three reasons communities desire these laws: (1)
Overpopulation leading to euthanasia, (2) Dog fighting and (3) Capacity to harm
humans. In all three areas, the pit bull type of dog is
disproportionately impacted. Make no mistake about it, pit bull types of
dogs may be the most congenial and adorable family companion in existence;
there are just far too many of them!

While many animal
advocates disagree on what is commonly referred to as “breed specific
legislation,” those of us on the front lines in animal control or
open-admission (don’t turn animals away) shelters overwhelmingly support this
legislation. Again, it is not a ban on these dogs; it is a lifesaving
strategy to save them

How the Law
Would Work

The essence of the
bill is to require those owners who choose not to spay or neuter their pit bull
type of dog to register and pay an annual fee of $500, which would be directed
to underwrite spay and neuter procedures for those pet owners who elect the
procedure for their dogs. Dogs who are spayed or neutered would not need
to be registered.

In fact, a typical
pit bull type of dog who has not been spayed may reasonably have two litters of
7 to 10 puppies, reselling for $200 each. This makes the registration fee
nominal. It is important to note that most, if not all, of the sales of
these puppies avoid payment of sales tax.

Funding sources
have been identified to remove any financial hardship for the owners of pit
bull type of dogs, thus it will not disproportionately affect any general
category of their owners. Of course, as with most animal laws, there are
exclusions for training, hunting, showing, etc.

Charleston Animal
Society has been conducting outreach services to the community for upward of 40
years, including free spay/neuter services for pit bull type of dogs, to deter
overpopulation, yet the Animal Society is still overwhelmed year-round primarily
by pit bull type of dogs.

It is time to marry
public policy with outreach efforts to save this incredible dog.